DVD Review: The Director’s Cut

A clueless director (Jonathan Patrick Moore) is making his first independent film (with a Picnic at Hanging Rock vibe), and takes his cast and crew to a remote location in the Australian outback. His producer, Bobby (Mollie King), is tasked with keeping it all together. There is a randy leading man (Renato Fabretti) and a snippy starlet (Jennieka Chattelle), along with a bunch of characters who are allegedly there to work.

A crewmember dies is found dead in bed, and director Mike doesn’t want anyone to know because it might blow his shooting schedule. The leading lady nearly dies from an allergic reaction to tomatoes. The next day she takes a shower, but someone put hydrochloric acid in the water tank (someone dressed in a furry koala costume) and someone else shoots her. Oops. That part was an accident.

One by one, the cast and crew are eliminated. But who is the killer? After the first few murders, the audience knows who it is. Until that crewmember is killed.

Writer/director Paul Komadina got winning performances from his cast, and presents us with an indie gem. The Director’s Cut is a horror comedy and an ingenious take on the and-then-there-were-none formula. The Director’s Cut has a strong beginning, giving hints about what terrible events might be coming. There are guns, allergies, a middle-of-nowhere film location, revenge, a flat tire, and power outages. Oh, and guess what. There’s no cell phone reception.

As the viewer attempts to puzzle out who the killer is, more and more bizarre scenarios spring to mind. Komadina smartly uses every horror and Hollywood cliché and worst-case-scenario to make The Director’s Cut a funny, bloody funny film. By not rationing the corn, he plays one situation off another, keeping us guessing until the very end. When he got to the end, instead of a cliché, he threw in a surprise. Is it a good surprise or a bad surprise? I’m not tellin’.

Bonus features are deleted scenes, the original trailer, and coming attractions. The DVD will be released October 12.

Bottom Line: Would I buy/rent/stream The Driector’s Cut? I sure would.